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101st Rapid Orbital Deployment Division
The 101st Rapid Orbital Deployment Division ("The Old Breed") is a specialised modular drop infantry division of the Unified Solar Marine Core trained for orbital assault operations. The 101st is able to plan, coordinate, and execute battalion-size rapid assault operations capable of seizing key terrain in support of operational objectives, and is capable of working in austere environments with limited or degraded infrastructure such as ship to ship combat. These particular operations are conducted by highly mobile teams covering extensive distances and engaging enemy forces behind enemy lines. Its unique battlefield mobility and high level of training have kept it in the vanguard of Unified military combat forces in recent conflicts. The 101st Division has a history that is nearly two centuries long. Formed during the Solar War, the division saw combat on Earth, Mars, Europa, Io and finally Ganymede. In the expansion the 101st where mostly stationed on Unified Solar Navy vessels. The division became adept at boarding actions. In the Ciriban Gulf Conflict the 101st saw action in battles across the Voor territories. History The Solar War Formation Due to the success of the United Nations 101st Division in Space Action in the First Luna Campaign , particularly the battles of Farside and Procellarum, United Nations High Command reformed the 101st into 3 Rapid Orbital Deployment divisions in 2129.03.02. The 101st Rapid Orbital Deployment Division, 102nd Rapid Orbital Deployment Division and the 103rd Rapid Orbital Deployment Division pulled candidates from across the Armies and Navies of all coalition nations to supplement their strength. They where activated at Mahia Military Camp in New Zealand. The Pacific War Before their scheduled 12 month training could be completed Jovian League strike forces seized Brisbane, Sydney, Singapore and Manilla, cutting off the critical supply of food from the Pacific States, threatening Earth with starvation. The 101st was hurriedly deployed into orbit and quickly proved it's worth breaking the back of the Jovian League offensive in the Battle of the Tasman Sea. This was followed up with successes at the Second Battle of Sydney, and the Battle of Polynesia where dug in Jovian formations where shattered by ROD drops. The 101st in particular under Brigadier General Aileen O'Hallaran threw itself into increasing more dangerous and reckless situations, earning it the nickname "Balls Before Brains". The division where deployed as part of the task force to win back Manilla and it's ports in 2230.12.18. The 101st dropped in and was immediately encircled, as the American and Pacific Union unit's had been stalled by tenacious Jovian defence. The Thriller in Manilla as it came to be known was one of the bloodiest actions of the whole Solar War. The Jovian League held armour in reserve and threw it at the United Nations forces. From the 20th til the 27th of December the 101st held off six times its number and three regiments of armour until Pacific Union reinforcements finally broke through. The 101st had almost 5000 casualties out of it's total strength of 7200, but had caused over 30000 in turn and developed it's aura of invincibility. The myth of the Old Breed was born. They where moved off the mainline to recuperate and resupply (aside from the 1st Regiment which was transferred to the 102nd Division), missing the final action of the pacific war. The Martian Front Learning of the Jovian armada massing over Bartolomeu the newly formed Unified High Command put together a strike force. It's aim was to destroy important Jovian fleet units thereby preventing the Callisto Fleet from engaging the Unified Solar Fleet whilst it was still building up, it would also create a window for United Nations of Earth military actions on Mars without orbital interference. The 101st was attached to the Home Fleet and fought in the Breaking of the Shipyards, capturing the Bartolomeu Tether, and a score of ships. The 101st was then used to assist the Central African Expeditionary Force in capturing Tharsis over the latter half of 2144, inserting into actions such as the Battle of Ionia, Rout at the Oasis and most famously the Battle of Tharsis Heights. Finally the 101st finished their deployment on Mars after the Siege of Buffalo, uprooting the last major Jovian foothold on the planet. The Division was then rested in Bartolomeu, before being moved to Locke Base in Tharsis for additional ship to ship training. The Jovian Campaign After successes in the Battle of Good Hope and the Battle of Phobos, Unified High Command felt confident enough to start the invasion of the Jovian Moons. The first attack on New Rhine, Europa commenced on the 23rd of April 2149 was an unmitigated disaster. Several diversionary attacks carried out on the Himalia moons over early 2149 failed to fool the Jovian command, and the 1st Fleet was lead into a trap as they where set apon from all sides by the entire Jovian fleet. A small subsection of the USN escort fleet ,including the carriers containing the ROD divisions managed to escape from the massacre but over three quarters of the 1st Fleet was destroyed or captured at the Massacre of the Rhine. The remainder of 1st Fleet rendezvoused with 2nd Fleet at Titian. Debate was fierce as to their next course. The Jovian Fleet now had a slight numerical edge, but was nowhere near battle ready. The decision was made to strike at Io. The 101st Division's objective was to take and hold the rail links surrounding Van Maanush, blocking reinforcements to the city until the joint Chinese Brazilian task force had overwhelmed it's defenders. From the initial drop it was an all-day, hard-fought, house-to-house fight against Jovian troops embedded in strongly prepared positions. Possession of the rail links was maintained despite a Jovian armor reinforced counterattack known as the Battle of Bloody Gulch. The 101st had accomplished its most important mission of securing the rail exits, but had a tenuous hold on positions near the Douve flow, over which the Jovian could still move armoured units. The three groups clustered there had tenuous contact with each other but none with the rest of the division. A shortage of working radio equipment caused by volcanic interference during the drops exacerbated control problems. O'Hallaran made destroying the Douve bridges the division's top priority and delegated the task to Colonel George Sink of 3rd Regiment, who captured and held them the next day. As the regular troops moved in from the city and secured the droptrooper positions, many were relieved and sent to the rear to organise. Io fell three days later before the ROD divisions where required for additional operations. The Battle of Pauldron The European Office of Intelligence had tracked significant activity on Ganymede, in the small mining town and spaceport of Zhang. Fort Pauldron ,the centre of the Jovian War Command, had been discovered. The main United Nations of Earth force was sent to Europa, but a special strike force of the 3 existing ROD divisions, plus 2 newly formed ones where embarked on a small strike force and headed for Ganymede. On the 11th of April 2152 over 36,000 droptroopers inserted across Zhang. The droptroopers suffered many casualties in the first hours of the invasion. Most of the droptroopers were engaged by Ganymede heavy infantry defending the spaceport and Martian forces near the town. Many dropships following the paratroops were hit by mortar fire seconds after landing and the armoured infantry who landed safely were almost annihilated by the Martian and Ganymedian defenders. Some droptroopers and dropships missed their objectives and set up defensive positions to the west of the spacefort and in "Prison Valley" near Zhang. Both forces were contained and failed to take the spaceport but the defenders had to deploy to face them. Towards the evening of 13th April, the droptroopers slowly pushed the Ganymedians back from Hill 107, which overlooked the spaceport. The 8th Ganymede Regiment and elements of the Ionian forces severely hampered movement of the 6th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion on the outer plains, where Allied reinforcements from Orbit could be landed. Overnight, the Ganymede Forces withdrew from Hill 107, leaving the spaceport undefended. During the previous day, the 7th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion had cut communications between the two westernmost companies of the battalion and the battalion commander who was on the eastern side of the spaceport. The lack of communication was assumed to mean that the battalion had been overrun in the west. With the weakened state of the eastern elements of the battalion and believing the western elements to have been overrun, The Ganymedians requested reinforcement.They where denied the request on the mistaken grounds that the reserve forces where busy repulsing Allied forces in its sector. After a failed counter-attack late in the day they withdrew under cover of darkness to regroup. However the 101st division launched a nighttime assault and scattered the retreating forces. Pushing forward, O'Hallaran assaulted Fort Pauldron itself. The 7th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion broke through the defences and through heavy hand to hand combat captured the leadership of the Jovian League. On the morning of the 14th, Brigadier General Aileen O'Hallaran accepted the unconditional surrender of the Jovian League, ending the Solar War. Organisation 2nd Rapid Orbital Deployment Regiment "The Siegebreakers" * 5th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "The Royals" * 6th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "O'Hallaran's Own" * 7th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "Pauldron's Saviours" 3rd Rapid Orbital Deployment Regiment "The Foreign Legion" * 17th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "Utti" * 18th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "Oriental Sword" * 19th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "Flying Krauts" 9th Rapid Orbital Deployment Regiment "The Striking Ninth" * 23rd Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "Flying Lightning" * 24th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "Dead weights" * 26th Rapid Orbital Deployment Battalion "The Mountain Men"